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' {No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet '1. D. E. POWERS.

ROTARY STEAM ENGINE.

No. 397,516. a Patented Feb. 12, 1889.

4! i Q L 6 4 WITNESSES IJVV'EJV'TOR,

M a M Attorney,

N. PETERS. PholmLilhographer. Washinglon. n. c

4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

D. E. POWERS. ROTARY STEAM ENGINE. No. 397,516. Patented Feb. 12,1889.

Attorney 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

D. E. POWERS.

ROTARY STEAM ENGINE;

Patented .Feb

(No Model.)

STATES NlTED DANIEL E. POXYERS, OF NElV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO GEORGE \V. FULLER, OF SAME PLACE.

ROTARY STEAIVP-ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 397,516, dated February 12, 1889. Application filed April 2, 1388. Serial No. 269,375- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, DANIEL E. POWERS, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Steam-Engines, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide a rotary engine of simplicity and economy of construction and in which the moving parts are steanrbalanced, whereby friction is reduced to a minimum.

Figure l of the accompanying drawings is a vertical transverse section of this improved rotary engine on line 1 1 of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section on line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the engine proper on line 3 3 of Fig. 2, a portion of the casing being broken away, showing a por tion of one of the piston-slides in section. Fig. at is a vertical longitudinal section on line i L of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the piston-slides. Fig. 6 is a side elevation showing a steam-supply channel in one of the heads for supplying steam simultaneously at diametrically opposite points of the casing.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures of the drawings.

The body of this improved rotary engine comprises a short cylinder, 10, having cylinder-heads 11 and 12 bolted thereto, said heads being provided on their inner faces with annular rabbets 13, into which the ends of the cylinder fit. The cylinder is preferably constructed of cast metal, and is provided with a leg, 11, having a foot-plate, 15, which may be cast integral therewith. The foot-plate 15 is bolted to a hollow bed-plate, 1G. Upright standards 17 are secured to the bed-plate 16, at opposite ends thereof, and a driving-shaft, 18, is supported at its opposite ends in bearings 19 of said standards. This shaft passes through the cylinder 10, the heads of which are provided with stuffing-boxes 20 on their outer faces. Driving balance-pulleys 21 are splined or otherwise fastened to this shaft on opposite sides of the cylinder between it and the standards. A rotary disk, 22, is fastened to this shaft within the cylinder concentrically therewith. This disk is somewhat smaller in diameter than the internal diameter of the cylinder, forming an annular working steamspace, 23, between the periphery of the disk and the inner face of the cylinder. This disk is provided with a diametrical slot, 24, eX- tending through its center, and each face thereof is provided with a pair of arc-shaped steam-channels, 25, which open into said slot. These channels are located equidistantly from the shaft and diametrically opposite each other, and by this arrangement the pressure of the steam is balanced on opposite sides and cramping avoided.

Two similar piston-slides, 26, reciprocate within the diametrical slot 24 of the rotary piston body or disk 22. These slides are provided at their outer ends with heads 27, which serve as valves to open and close the ends of said slots, and as pistons to receive the im' pulse of the steam admitted through them to the steam-space 23. Each head is provided with a port, 28, and preferably with an inwardly-projecting lip, 29. These slides are preferably provided with grooves on their outer faces, to admit steam between said faces and the body of the disk'to balance the slides. They may also be provided with a longitudinal steanrchannel, 31, on their inner faces, to permit the passage of steam from one head to the other through the slot of the disk. These piston-slides preferably overlap at their inner ends; but, if desired, the shaft 18 may be made solid and the piston-slides sufliciently short to slide on opposite sides of the shaft. The body of each slide being thinner than the head thereof, a steam-channel, 32, is formed. therein between the body of the slide and the face of the slot.

The cylinder-heads are each provided with steam-ports opposite each other, and also, preferably, with steam-ports 34, also opposite each. other and diametrically opposite the ports 33. The steam-ports 33 are supplied by steam-pipes or steam-channels 345" in the cylinder-heads, and the ports 33 may be connected with the ports 34 by arc-shaped channels 35 in the heads. The channels 34 in the heads are connected by a channel, 36, in a bracket, 37, at the top of the cylinder, and a steam-supply pipe, 38, extends into said bracket and opens into said channel 06.: The bracket is provided above the channel 36 with. an oil-cup, from which oil may be supplied to the piston-slides.

Exhaust-ports l0 are disposed at diametrically-opposite points on the periphery of the cylinder, and an arc-shaped channel, 4], on the cylinder connects said ports with a vertical exhaust-charm el,42,which extendsthro u gh the leg 14 and into the hollow bed-plate 16. An exhaust-pipe, 1-3, extends into said bedplate and connects with said channel.

Two fixed cams or almtments, 50 and 51, are disposed within the cylinder diametrically opposite each other and between the exhaustports. Each of these cams has a long curved :face, 52, and a short curved face, 53, the longer curved. face serving to gradur-tlly force in the piston-slides within. the disk 22 after said slides pass the exhaust-ports, and the short curved faces permittin the slides to be forced out quickly as they pass the steam-ports, and also tending to assist the rotary motion of the disk by the action of the slides on the abrupt curves of said short faces.

Any suitable governor, as 60, is mounted on the engine and controls the admission of steam through the steam-supply pipe 38, said governor being connected with. some moving part of the engine. connection comprise a shaft, 61, supported in a bracket, ('12, said shaft bein provided at one end with abeveled gear, 63, which meshes with a bevel-gear, li-Lt, of the governor. This shaft is provided at the other end with a grooved pulley, (35, from which a belt, 66, extends to a grooved pulley, G7, constituting an extension of the hub of one of the driving-wheels.

The operation is as follows: The parts bei n g in the position shown in full lines in Fig. ],the engine is moving under the expansion of steam. The arc-shaped channels 25 of the disk 22 having passed the steam-ports of the cylinder-heads, the disk. continues to rotate in the direction of the arrow until the pi stonslides 26 pass the exhaust-ports a0, and immediately thereafter said slides ride up the longer arc-shaped :faces 52 of the fixed cams and 51, whereby said slides are closed within the disk, as shown in dotted lines in said figure, as they come opposite the highest points of the cams. Just as the piston-slides pass the highest points of the cams the forward ends of the are-shaped slots 25 come opposite the steam-ports 33 and 34:, or one of said slots comes opposite the port 33, according to the construction adopted, and steam is admitted to the steam-channels 32, whereby the piston slides are forced forward, and when said slides have nearly passed the short curved faces of the cams they are projected outward a sufficient distance from the periphery of the disk to bring the ports 28 within the steam-space 23, into which steam is admitted through said port as long as the arc-shaped channels of the rotary disk are op- As shown, the means of posite thesteam-inlet port or ports 33 and iii of the cylinder-heads, and when said channels pass said port or ports the steam is cut off and the operation is repeated.

The steam being admitted simultaneously at diametrieally-opposite points, there is. no tendency to cramping or binding of the parts, and as steam can pass upon both sides of the piston-slides they are balanced and friction reduced. by a cushioning-spring, 70, if desired; but this is not necessary.

I claim 1. The combination of a cylindrical casing provided. with fixed cams and with steam inlet and exhaust ports, a rotary disk concentric with said casing and provided with areshaped channels at diametrically opposite points, which pass the inlet-port during the rotation of the disk, and with a radial slot or slots in eomnn'mication with said arc-shaped channels, and piston-slides within said radial slots provided with headshaving steam-channels, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a cylindrical casing provided with fixed cams, and with steam inlet and exhaust ports, a rotary disk concentric with said casin and provided with areshaped channels at diametricallyopposite points which pass the inlet-port during the rotation of the disk, and with a radial slot or slots in communication with said arc-shaped channels, and piston-slides within said radial slots provided with heads having steam-channels, said slides having grooves on their outer faces, substantially as described.

3. The combination. of a cylindrical casing provided with fixed cams and with steam inlet and exhaust ports, a rotary disk concentric with said casing and provided with short arc-shaped channels at diametrically-opposite points which pass the inlet-port during the rotation of the disk, said channels serving to admit and cut off steam, and with a radial slot or slots in communication with said arc-shaped channels, and piston-slides within said radial slots provided with heads having steam-channels, substantially as described.

4. The combination of a cylii'idrical casing provided with fixed cams, each of which has a short and a long curved face, and with steam inlet and exhaust ports, a rotary disk provided with are -shaped channels, which pass the inlet-port during the rotation of the disk, and with a radial slot or slots in com munication with said arc-shaped channels, and piston-slides withinv said radial slot provided with heads having steam-channels, substantially as described.

5. The combination of a cylindrical casin g provided with interior peripheral fixed cams and with steam inlet and exhaust ports, a retary disk provided with arc-shaped channels which pass the inlet-port during the rotation of the disk, and with a diametrical slot in communication near its opposite ends with These slides maybe connected Ioo steam-inlet ports at diametrically-opposite 1 points, and with an arc-shaped channel conneeting said poi-rs, a rotary disk within said casing provided with are -shaped channels which pass the inlet-ports during the rotation of the disk, and with a radial slot or slots in communication with said arc-shaped channels of the disk, and piston-slides within said radial slots provided \vi tli h eads havin steamchannels, substantially as described.

DANIEL E. POWERS.

\V i in esses:

EDWIN M. CORYELL, GEO. W. FULLER. 

